The distinction between “gender” and biological sex is question-begging because the concept of “gender” already assumes that such a distinction exists. To invoke “gender” (or its ambiguously related concept, “gender identity”) is to assert that there is a construct called ”gender,” the defining characteristic of which is that it is not biological sex, and to further assert that this construct called “gender” is what we must identify with rather than the biological reality of our bodies.
But it’s not enough just to declare there is such a distinction. If we are all expected to abandon biological reality as the basis of sexual identity then the burden is on those making the assertion to show us not only that their distinction between “gender” and sex is rational, but also that it entails a moral duty for us to ignore biological reality. And not just to ignore biological reality, but to think of biological reality as an impediment to ”gender” whenever it is declaimed to be so.
This inversion—where the construct is to be considered more real than the biological reality—shows that the ideology of gender identity must indulge in ontological gerrymandering in order to pass itself off as valid.
Psychologically healthy people who are acclimated to reality identify as things that are true about themselves. People from New York identify as New Yorkers. People who follow the Cubs and root for them to win identify as Cubs fans. People who can play guitar identify as guitarists.
Gender identity turns all of this on its head. The whole concept hinges on the idea that “gender” is NOT biological reality. The only reason to identify with a “gender” rather than with your actual, biological sex is to deny biological reality. Otherwise you would just identify with your sex–the thing that is true about yourself. When “gender identity” is asserted, the identity is what must function as real in the theory, not because it has been shown to be based in reality, but because the theory requires it. Minus this flagrant ontological gerrymandering, the theory falls apart.